€354 million in cocaine found at Rotterdam port; 34 arrested

In the period between the last days of 2022 and the first days of 2023, 34 people were arrested during checks in the port of Rotterdam and customs seized 4726 kilograms of cocaine. The drugs had a street value of 354 million euros, according to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), and have since been destroyed.

On Christmas Eve, a man was caught with 35 kilograms of cocaine in the back seat of his car during a check. Customs officers had previously seen him leave the port area with two well-filled sports bags and got into a car.

On Tuesday, December 27, cocaine was seized again during a check. In the process, customs officers discovered 30 packages with a total of 1121 kilograms of cocaine in a container of frozen fruit juice from Brazil as well as in a container of bananas from Ecuador.

On New Year's Day, another 540 kilos of cocaine was intercepted and six people were arrested.

On a ship from South America, 350 kilograms of cocaine were discovered in a container of bananas from Ecuador on January 3. On the same day, customs officers found 949 kilograms of cocaine in a container from Chile on the same ship. Another 1701 kilograms of cocaine were found in a shipment of shoes, also from Chile.

The pre-trial detention of eight suspects was extended after their arrest, the OM announced. Among them was a 16-year-old suspect.